Friends Forever
by MyCurrentObsession
Summary: Takes place right after the end of Avatar. Ty Lee goes to see her former friend Azula one last time before leaving with the Kyoshi Warriors. SLIGHT romance. It's just barely hinted at Ty Lee/Azula. Mostly a friendship fic, though. A oneshot.


AN- Okay, so I just finished watching the last episode of Avatar, and I felt the need to write this, even though it's quite possibly the only Avatar fic I'll ever do. I like watching the show, but I don't really like reading or writing about it, so… BTW, this was spawned from my upsetness at the fact that it never shows what happens to Azula at the end. It's mostly a friendship fic, but there's hinted girl/girl, so if you don't like that, either go back or endure it. After all, it's only hinted at, so it's not a big deal.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except this plot.

Edit: I spelled 'Mai' wrong... That has been fixed.

* * *

Ty Lee smiled as she looked at her fellow members of the Kyoshi Warriors. No, they were more than that. They were her friends. Her smile grew slightly bitter, but no one noticed. _I wonder if Azula ever really considered me a friend at all. Probably not. I was most likely just a tool she could use and boss around because she kinda scared me. _The smiled dropped completely from her face then, and Suki was the first to notice. _I always thought of Azula as a friend, even though I knew I was being used. But I couldn't just stand back and watch her and Mai __fight! I had to do something, and protecting Mai seemed like the right thing to do… _Her thoughts were interrupted by Suki.

"Is something wrong, Ty Lee?" Looking up, she saw that everyone was staring at her and forced herself to fake a smile. To them, she was the always cheerful one, and she didn't want that to change.

"Of course not! I was just thinking about something, that's all. So… how soon are we leaving?" Suki eyed her, unconvinced, but let it go anyway.

"We'll leave in about an hour. Are you ready?"

"Sure! I'm all…" Ty Lee trailed off, suddenly unable to fight the desire to see Azula one last time. _Even if she hates me, I still consider her my friend. I have to say goodbye, at the very least! But I don't know where she is… _

"On second thought, I'm not ready quite yet. But don't worry, I just have one little detail to take care of, really." That said, the girl walked over to the nearest guard and quietly- she didn't want the others to know what she was doing. She felt they'd disapprove of it- asked if he knew where to find Azula. The man was obviously shocked, but pointed to the prison rooms in the southern wing. She thanked him before running off in that direction, leaving the group staring after her in confusion. Sokka was the first to recover.

Scratching his head, the boy asked, "Man, what's up with her?"

* * *

After getting the guards to let her in, Ty Lee ran through the prison rooms looking for her friend. "Azula! Are you there? If you are, please answer me! I just wanna talk, okay?" She finally found a room that the guards in front of said belonged to the girl she was looking for. After much begging and convincing that she'd be okay, Ty Lee managed to persuade these guards to let her in, only to find Azula in a cage. "Azula!"

At the sound of her name, the aforementioned girl looked up. Realizing who it was, she snarled, "Get out! I want absolutely _nothing _to do with you, you little traitor!" Ty Lee flinched at the words, but continued moving closer, observing her friend closely. She gasped, shocked at what she saw when she got a closer look.

Azula's face was scratched and dirty, as was the rest of her. Her teeth were clenched together, grinding angrily. Her eyes flashed with total outrage. But none of that was what really shocked the girl. In fact, _that _was totally expected. What shocked Ty Lee the most was the fact that there were streaks on the others girl's face. These streaks were left by tears, which were welling up in Azula's eyes, as the girl refused to let others see her cry. _I've never ever seen her cry before… It's so sad…_She sniffed, feeling tears welling up in her _own_ eyes at the sight of her- former- friend. _Azula…_

"I'm so sorry!" Not caring of the danger it presented, Ty Lee opened the cage and threw her arms around the other girl- who, by the way, was trying her best to _just _be angry and not let any tears fall. "Oh, Azula, I'm so, _so_ sorry! I didn't want to betray you, but I couldn't stand to watch you and Mai fight! I just didn't want anyone getting hurt!"

"Get off me!" Azula promptly threw the girl onto the ground, unable to bear the hug _or_ the tension it created. "Say what you will, but you _did_ betray me! Imagine my surprise when, not one, but _both_ of my dear friends turned around and almost _literally_ stabbed me in the back! I will _never_ forgive you, Ty Lee, so you might as well leave!"

Azula's words brought Ty Lee a much needed reality check. _I'm so stupid! How could I possibly think that it'd be this easy to win back Azula's trust?! What she said was right, after all. Despite what I said about not wanting anyone to get hurt, back then, I attacked her to help Mai escape. It's __**my**__ fault she doesn't trust me or believe in my friendship anymore, not hers. But then again, I still don't really believe if she ever considered me a friend in the first place, so why do I care so much anyway? _Ty Lee sat up and frowned at the girl in front of her.

"Maybe I did betray you, but so what? After all, you've been betraying me and Mai from the start!"

"What?!" Ty Lee's small frown turned into an all-out glare, which shocked Azula even more considering the fact that the girl _never_ got this angry or glared like that.

"You've been using Mai and I from the start! You picked us to go with you on this trip, not because of friendship, but because you knew about our skills! I've got to wonder if you _ever _considered me a friend with the way you manipulated me into joining you or the way you've always treated me. And it _hurts_, because no matter how you feel about me, I've always cared about you Azula! I've always been your friend, and now look at us! You're in prison, you hate me, and I… I just…" Ty Lee trailed off, sobbing, before continuing once more. "I just want us to be friends again." The girl had left herself completely vulnerable in every way, saying a thing like that. But Azula could do nothing but stare in shock at the crying girl, unbelieving of what she had just heard. She knew that she had tears flowing from her own eyes, but didn't care at the moment.

"I… That's not true. I admit, I asked you and Mai to join me for the skills you both possessed, but I was truly happy that it was you two, my _friends_. I also admit that, when you refused to join, I manipulated and forced you to do what I wanted, and I know that was wrong. I know that I treated the both of you horribly in my lust for power, and I'm sorry. I really _do_ consider the both of you to be my friends, despite how I make it seem. I'm… _sorry_, Ty Lee." Ty Lee sniffled.

"Then why did you make us fear you? If you truly cared, then why did you force us to seem weaker, less important. You brought us down and made us fear you. I believe everything you've said so far, Azula. So, why? Just tell me that, it's all I want to know." The former princess of the Fire Nation put her head down in shame.

"I… Well, I suppose it's because I wanted respect. I thought that, by making people fear me, I'd be earning their respect as well." Ty Lee frowned slightly.

"But that's stupid! You can't get respect by making people fear you, Azula! It just doesn't work that way. You have to earn peoples' respect. Besides, I've always respected you. I bet a lot of people have. I know it may _seem_ like you get respect by making people fear you, but you don't. There's a big difference between fear and respect, you know." Azula sighed.

"I know that now, but it's too late. I'll be in prison for the rest of my life because of my mistakes." Ty Lee trapped Azula in another hug. _But that's… so sad! Zuko wouldn't really do that to his own sister, would he?_

"Don't say that! There's no way Zuko would keep you in here for the rest of your life, Azula! You're his _sister_. So what if you've done some bad things to each other in the past? I can tell, you've changed. You're better now, just like Zuko himself, actually. You're good now, and I'm sure he'll see it, too. And if you're good, he'll let you out. You know that, right?" Hesitantly,- _very_ hesitantly. After all, it wasn't every day Azula had an experience like this- Azula wrapped her arms around the other girl, returning the hug.

"I honestly don't know. Maybe I have changed, but still, I've done so many horrible things. Do you really think I can ever be forgiven?"

"Of course! Everyone deserves a second chance, Azula! And if Zuko can't see that, then he doesn't deserve to be the Fire Lord! If he doesn't let you out, then I'll let myself _in_! We're friends, for real now. So we've got to look out for each other, right? I'll always be here for you, Azula. Just remember that, and it'll hopefully help you get by in your- hopefully short- stay in prison." They were both crying heavily now. It was a rare show of emotion, at least on Azula's part. Ty Lee always let her emotions out, so it was much more expected from her.

"You're right, Ty Lee. Maybe I've done some bad things in the past, but that's all behind me now. I'm a better person, and if my little brother can't see that, then I'll just bust out of prison and make an honest living for myself elsewhere." _Oh, Azula… You really __**have**__ changed. Even more than I expected! _The acrobatic girl grinned.

"Right! And I'll be right there with you, 'cause friends stick together!" Of course, now that the commotion was over and the girls were friends again, they couldn't help but notice how close they'd gotten. It made Azula uncomfortable, being that close to Ty Lee.

"Uh, now that everything's resolved, would you mind getting off me, Ty Lee?" The previously mentioned girl blushed furiously, just now realizing how close they truly were.

"Right! Of course! So…" Searching her mind frantically for something to say while scrambling to put some distance between herself and Azula, Ty Lee said the first thing to come to mind. "I'm a Kyoshi Warrior now, you know. I'll be going with Suki and the others back to their home."

"What?! But, if you go with them, then I'll be left here all alone!"

"You won't be alone, Azula. Not only is Zuko _sure_ to let you out pretty soon, but you've still got Mai! If you made up with me, I'm sure you can make up with her, too. It won't be that hard, so don't give me that look! Besides, I'll come back and visit every chance I get okay? But I'm supposed to be leaving in…" Pausing Ty Lee checked the time, only to jump up in shock. "…now! I should have left like five minutes ago! Sorry to rush out like this, but I've really got to go, okay? Bye Azula!" Not even thinking of what she was doing, Ty Lee leaned down and brushed her lips against the other girl's forehead in a chaste kiss- it could really be taken any way. A sisterly kiss, a friendly kiss, or a more-than-friends kiss, Azula didn't really know what it's purpose was- before rushing out the door, not giving the other girl a chance to respond, which left Azula in a state of shock and confusion. The former princess thought about it for a while, and then smiled, deciding that, _whatever _the kiss stood for, she liked it.

* * *

Ty Lee rushed toward the dock where she could see the other Kyoshi Warriors waiting- some more patiently than others. When she arrived, huffing and puffing, Suki frowned at her.

"Where have you been?! We've been waiting for you! The boat is going to leave any minute now, we have to hurry and get on!" Ty Lee had spewed apologies and tactfully kept the subject _away_ from what she'd been doing.

After that, the Kyoshi Warriors had said their goodbyes to the Avatar and his friends and then proceeded to _finally_ board the boat. Ty Lee smiled as she waved goodbye to everyone from the deck.

"Goodbye, everyone!"

_Goodbye, Azula. And don't worry, I'll definitely be back soon! After all, what are friends for, right?_ 'Friends' was most definitely Ty Lee's favorite word. _Of course, you and me are __**more**__ than that, right Azula? We're not __**just**__ friends… We're __**best**__ friends! _

* * *

AN- I'm kinda regretting writing this. I think it sucks, that's why. Oh, well! I felt the need to write it, so I did! Tell me what you think, 'kay? I tried to make Ty Lee sorta naive like she seems in the show. Did I succeed? I also think that Azula is a little OOC. I'm not good at writing about people who are supposed to be pure evil. So... what do you all think? Are Azula and Ty Lee in character, or did I totally screw them both up? Review and tell me, okay? MCO


End file.
